


Frostbite

by ballonlea



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ferdibert Week 2019, M/M, Mistletoe, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:07:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21622705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballonlea/pseuds/ballonlea
Summary: “Hubert,” Ferdinand said. “I regret that I must ask you for a favor.”“A favor?” Hubert asked. “What could you possibly have to ask of me?"
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 7
Kudos: 217





	Frostbite

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for clicking!!!!! please take more ferdibert!!!!!! ^___^ i hope you like it!!!!

Despite what Dorothea may say about Ferdinand’s head being full of air, he was very much aware of not only himself, but things on his person and surrounding him. And occasionally, he could harmonize fairly well with other people. Sure, he may be singing different notes, but they still blended together beautifully. Figuratively, of course, though Ferdinand’s actual, honest-to-Goddess singing voice _was_ worthy of recognition.

The point was that he noticed that he had forgotten something in the classroom the precise minute he had retired to his room for the evening. He stepped through the door and almost instantaneously realized that his right pocket felt lighter than it had when he had departed this morning. How careless of him! Whether he had dropped it or merely forgotten about it, it was utterly unbecoming of someone such as himself. The right thing to do would be to go straight to the classroom and retrieve it.

He knew _exactly_ what it was, too, and he scolded himself for forgetting it the entire way there. Or, he would have, if it weren’t for how distracted he was by how _cold_ it had gotten lately. He supposed he should have expected it, since this time of year typically brought cold weather, but no amount of expectations could have prepared him for how it actually felt. He was too used to warmer weather to feel comfortable, but he knew he had to at least _appear_ comfortable.

Not like anyone was watching. Well, he heard some rustling just now, but he doubted that one of the monastery cats was going to judge him on any potential out-of-line shivering.

The classroom was in sight by now, and it seemed like no one else was around. It really would be so easy to walk in, retrieve his bag of tea leaves, and walk right out. No explanations, no one around to see his misstep, no trouble at all. He’d even have time to actually _drink_ some tea before it was time to go to bed.

He stopped just before he could step inside. Rather, he _was_ stopped. Quite suddenly, might he add, as it felt like he had walked straight into some sort of glass wall. It wasn’t glass at all, though. It was just… invisible. Invisible, but very, very real, and Ferdinand seemed to be trapped in all sorts of directions.

He glanced up, wondering if he might call to the Goddess for help, only for his eye to catch on some mistletoe, rather crudely affixed to the ceiling. Of course. Of _course_ this would happen to Ferdinand von Aegir, of all people. Of course he’d be caught off guard. Luckily, he was sure that he’d be able to receive a kiss rather easily under normal circumstances. But it’d been dark out for quite a while, so he doubted anyone would be walking by anytime soon.

So… his only option, really, would be to wait until morning. Which he wasn’t sure if he could actually do, considering how cold it was. Maybe Ferdinand would be lucky, and the professor would be working late. The professor would have no problem helping him out, surely, so if he stared long and hard at the classroom, he could probably will the professor into existence—

A figure was already looming in the doorway of the classroom. Ferdinand froze, every drop of blood in his body going completely cold, but it was much easier to relax when he realized that the _only_ thing that could possibly look like that was Hubert von Vestra. Who was, honestly, one of the last people Ferdinand wanted to see, but it was better than being by himself.

“Hubert,” Ferdinand said to the figure, who looked more and more like the lanky magician the more Ferdinand stared at it. “I regret that I must ask you for a favor.”

“A favor?” Hubert asked, stepping out. In the dim light of the moon, it was much easier to confirm his identity. Ferdinand didn’t know if he was relieved or not. “What could you possibly have to ask of me? Haven’t you better things to do?”

“I’ve _much_ better to do, thank you,” Ferdinand snapped. “Which is precisely why I _regret_ having to ask you. I appear to be trapped in this spot due to one of von Riegan’s tricks.” Ferdinand sighed, shifting his weight. “And it’s quite cold, so I would appreciate you telling me whether or not you could destroy whatever charm he placed on this _thing.”_

Ferdinand punctuated his sentence by looking up at the offending mistletoe, and he looked back at Hubert to find his eyes trained on it. Hubert took a step forward, very cautiously, to inspect it more closely. He was much too close to Ferdinand for comfort now. He wasn’t _close,_ but he was too close. Close enough to smell the lingering stench of coffee was too, too close.

“I suppose I could make an attempt,” Hubert said, “if only for the fact that it’d be an inconvenience if you froze to death.”

An inconvenience! Ferdinand wanted to laugh! As if something as serious as death could be written off as a mere inconvenience. He supposed it was only natural that someone like Hubert could regard it as such. Ferdinand hadn’t the slightest idea of what Hubert’s actual duties to Edelgard entailed, but he was almost completely certain it has some sort of something to do with unpleasant things like death and poisons and torture.

“It shouldn’t be difficult,” was the result of Hubert’s assessment. “Likely, the _natural_ way to break this charm would be to kiss someone. The unnatural way would be to simply destroy the mistletoe. I’m surprised you couldn’t break it yourself.”

Ferdinand knew better than to admit any of his shortcomings to Hubert, of all people. But he had to admit, he wasn’t knowledgeable enough about charms to even begin figuring out this one by himself. Besides, Hubert was just setting out bait. Ferdinand was _not_ going to take it so easily.

“Hurry up and break it, then.” Ferdinand crossed his arms. “It would be a much better use of your time than standing there and talking about how easy it is.”

“Have I told you yet today how insufferable you are?” Hubert asked, but he didn’t seem to be expecting an answer as he turned on his heel. “It’d be safer if I took aim from a distance. Ensure that you clear your clouded mind enough that you—”

Hubert’s voice cut out as he took a step and proceeded to knock his head straight into the same invisible wall Ferdinand had found himself running into earlier.

“Ha! You act as though you’re so much better than me, yet you’ve fallen into the exact same trap as I!” Ferdinand said, feeling rather smug, but the smugness faded away as Hubert glared daggers at him.

Oh. So now they were _both_ trapped.

“You wear your emotions so plainly on your face,” Hubert drawled, taking a step towards Ferdinand. “I presume you realize the situation we’ve found ourselves in, then.”

Now Ferdinand’s mind was racing, and he felt like he should pace but had no room to do so, and he decided that sticking the night out may not be dreadfully terrible because just having Hubert stand near him made the cold feel the slightest bit more bearable. And if the only other option for escaping the cold was kissing Hubert…

“I’d rather freeze to death than kiss you,” Ferdinand said, and it was horribly undignified, and he wasn’t sure how true it was, but he had to remind himself that the monastery cats didn’t care, couldn’t care about what he had to say.

“Is that so?”

Hubert’s tone was undecipherable. Ferdinand tried to place it as challenging, but when that didn’t quite work out, he thought maybe Hubert had sounded irritated. But irritated didn’t feel like quite the right word to describe how he’d sounded either. Tired? Pleased? Indifferent?

 _Disappointed,_ the smallest voice in the back of Ferdinand’s mind supplied. _He sounded disappointed._

Ferdinand banished the thought.

By now, Hubert was very much accustomed to uncomfortable situations. They no longer fazed him. He could get through the clunkiest, most awkward of exchanges with hardly any change in disposition.

But standing quietly with Ferdinand von Aegir was almost the most unbearable thing Hubert had ever gone through. And that was saying something, considering he had burned the feeling off the tips of his fingers without so much as a blink.

It was cold, and Hubert felt like he was choking on the heavy floral scent that surrounded Ferdinand, and he would much rather be getting back to his duties than standing here, much too close, in complete and total silence. Hubert was the farthest thing from a religious man one could get, but he was about to get on his knees and pray if Ferdinand didn’t open that damned mouth of his.

That ridiculous, insufferable, pretty little damned damned _damned to flames_ mouth of his.

Truthfully, Hubert just wanted to kiss him and get it over with. He’d likely be able to send a small flame to burn the mistletoe up if he wanted to—there was no real threat of hurting either of him if he was patient enough to wait for it to catch fire, and he was nearly tall enough to reach it, anyhow. But he decided the _natural_ way might be best. It’d rid the two of them of this predicament, and it’d rid Hubert of the feelings that plagued him every waking moment of his life.

 _Feelings._ Disgusting. Hubert would rather not have any sort of _feelings_ whatsoever. He was perfectly content to go about his business as some sort of rock, as an impenetrable fortress that served its purpose well and didn’t toss and turn at night thinking about things it couldn’t have.

He shifted his weight, left, right, then left again. Ferdinand still didn’t look like he had any intention of speaking. He was looking anywhere _but_ at Hubert, though he seemed to be quite focused on glaring daggers at the classroom.

“What were you doing, sneaking around so late?” Hubert asked. “I was under the impression that you weren’t the _sneaking_ type.”

“You would be correct. I am _not_ the sneaking type,” Ferdinand said. “However, I misplaced something, and I needed to get it back rather urgently. What were _you_ doing in there?”

Hubert pointedly ignored the question. It wasn’t any of Ferdinand’s business, and besides, he was much more interested in what Ferdinand had lost. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was the small bag he had picked up when he entered the classroom earlier that evening. He’d every intention of thoroughly examining it at some point that night, but it’d save him some work if he could extract the information from Ferdinand instead.

“You misplaced something? How unlike you,” Hubert said. “It must not have been very important, otherwise you would not have forgotten it.”

“It _was_ important, yet I forgot it anyway.” Ferdinand frowned. “It was a bag containing a small selection of tea leaves. I was hoping to drink some before sleeping tonight, but…” He sighed. “I do not think I _will_ be sleeping tonight, under _these_ conditions.”

 _It could all be over if you would just get over yourself and kiss me,_ Hubert thought. He didn’t dare say it; he’d rather bite his tongue than suffer one of those eerie silences again.

“Tea leaves,” Hubert said. “What sort?”

Ferdinand seemed to brighten up at that. “I am glad you asked! Just the other day…”

He launched into a rather long-winded story about his adventure in town. He’d been sent for a few specific things, but he couldn’t help himself when he walked past a stall selling more teas than he could count. Hubert could almost picture exactly how Ferdinand must have looked inspecting each tea before purchasing _much_ more than he had any business having. And as Ferdinand spoke, those revolting _feelings_ bloomed once more in Hubert’s chest. It almost felt like they were trying to claw their way through his ribcage. He almost wanted them to.

There really was no better way to describe the feelings than _ache,_ Hubert decided, as Ferdinand went on to describe each individual bundle of tea leaves he had picked up that day. And it certainly was an ache—Hubert was hanging on to Ferdinand’s every word, and all he could think about was how much he’d prefer to be having this conversation somewhere more comfortable than the cold darkness of the monastery at night. He hated how easily he could imagine himself spending an entire afternoon listening to Ferdinand detail the intricacies of tea. It almost seemed as complex as the language of flower arrangement, but while flower arrangement was fairly universal, Hubert wondered if only Ferdinand really cared this much about which teas to use when.

“And all of that is why I need it back so badly,” Ferdinand finished. “It’d be absurd to use any other blend than that specific one for the day I’ve had.”

“How troubling,” Hubert said, the bag in question feeling more like a thousand ton weight rather than a collection of leaves.

“Indeed.” Ferdinand nodded. “My apologies, Hubert. I do not often… vent my frustrations like that.”

_I’d listen to a thousand frustrations if they came from those lips—_

“Eager enough to spout hot air but not so much so that you’d consider giving away a kiss in order to get your tea leaves back?” Hubert tilted his head. “Curious.”

The feelings in his chest didn’t agree with teasing Ferdinand, but _rationally,_ Hubert knew he needed to do whatever he could to protect himself. To protect Ferdinand, too. Someone like Ferdinand… it wouldn’t be right for him to get involved with someone like Hubert. That was just how the world worked, no matter how much the ache wanted to disagree.

“I…” Ferdinand bit his lip, and he didn’t continue his sentence.

Hubert wasn’t as bothered by this silence as he was by the last one. _This_ silence felt justified. It felt… almost thrilling, with how Ferdinand squirmed under Hubert’s gaze. Was he supposed to feel such a way? He wasn’t sure if there was a correct answer to that question.

After a little while, Ferdinand looked up again. “The longer we stand here, the colder I feel. And the colder I feel, the more appealing the idea of kissing you becomes.”

Hubert raised an eyebrow. Ferdinand’s face colored, but he kept eye contact.

Ferdinand bit his lip again, and Hubert’s rational decisionmaking skills flew out the metaphorical window.

Surprisingly, Hubert was a gentle kisser.

Ferdinand had kissed a fair amount of people in his life, too, but none of them quite felt like this. There was a serious disconnect between Hubert’s physical appearance and the softness of his lips, the care he took in holding Ferdinand’s face, the taste of coffee that must still be lingering on his tongue. And Ferdinand _hated_ the taste of coffee, but he didn’t mind it like this.

He steadied himself with his hands on Hubert’s shoulders. He didn’t feel so cold like this, either. Hubert was warm, despite everything, and Ferdinand wasn’t sure if it was that or his own blush that was making the frost melt away. He just knew that somehow, he didn’t quite want it to end, and he felt a little lost when it did.

Something felt different when they parted. Was it the air around them? Was it because the effects of the mistletoe had worn off? Was it because Ferdinand’s head felt like it was lost in flurries?

“I hope you find what you’ve been looking for,” Hubert said, a rather _unsettling_ statement considering all the questions hitting him at once.

Although the effects of the charm had worn off, Ferdinand found himself still frozen in place for quite some time after Hubert had disappeared into the night. And when he made his way back to his room, lost in thought, he closed the door behind him only to realize he’d forgotten his tea for the second time that day.

The next morning, Hubert had appeared before Ferdinand rather suddenly. After a sleepless night, Ferdinand wasn’t sure if Hubert was the first or the last person he needed to see.

“Good morning,” Ferdinand said anyway, because it was polite to greet someone no matter how much you wanted to see them.

“Good morning,” Hubert said, and he procured Ferdinand’s bag of tea from his pocket. “I found this on the way back to my room. Your… what was it again?” He placed the bag in Ferdinand’s hand. “Almyran pine needles?”

“Yes,” Ferdinand said. “Almyran pine needles. Thank you.”

Hubert nodded. He turned to walk away, but Ferdinand caught him by the wrist before he could get too far away. Ferdinand didn’t expect to see such an open display of surprise on Hubert’s face, but he felt like his mind had finally caught up to him after being separated from it since last night.

“You should join me,” Ferdinand said. “This evening? It is the least I could do to thank you.”

It felt like an eternity, the two of them staring at each other like that, as endless as their kiss had felt last night. And if nothing else, Ferdinand _needed_ the chance to talk over tea. Just to see if Hubert felt the same way. Just to see if Hubert had any sort of feelings at all.

“Perhaps I shall,” was all Hubert said.

And Ferdinand was satisfied with that answer.

(They kissed again, over tea that evening. And they kissed over tea the next evening, and the evening after that, and they kissed even when Ferdinand discovered that Hubert didn’t care much for tea at all, and they kissed the next time it was cold and they only had each other for warmth.

They kissed so many times that Ferdinand lost track, and the next time they found themselves trapped under some charmed mistletoe, they didn’t mind nearly as much.)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!!!
> 
> [find me on twitter!!](https://twitter.com/mezzosaka)


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